Tyrone man taken to hospital after cannabis crop went on fire

Cannabis plants

Published:12:10Friday 29 May 2015

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A Clogher man was hospitalised with burns when his cannabis crop caught fire and set part of his house ablaze.

East Tyrone Magistrate’s Court heard how police were tasked to 16 Redford Park in Dungannon in the early hours of June 14 last year following a report of a “suspicious fire” at the residence by Fire Service.

The constables spoke to the owner of the house, the defendant, 36-year-old Gary McCann, who now lives in McCrea Park in Clogher.

He had burns on his hands and soot on his face and was reported to be in a “highley excitable” mood and was taken to hospital.

They reported how they had discovered two fire-damaged pot plants in a cupboard which was the primary area of the fire. The cupboard was linked to the power supply by an extension cable which Fire Service believed to have been the cause of the blaze. This powered a heat lamp and thermometre inside the cupboard.

Mr McCann subsequently attended a police interview on December 1 2014 where he made a full admission to the charge of cultivating cannabis.

The police report described how Mr McCann also said that he had been suffering from depression and that he had been medicating the condition with the drug. He had told them that he was now on prescribed medicine.

District Judge John Meehan adjourned the case for a Probation Service pre-sentence report on June 24.